Grinnin' Grizzly Spiced Ale | Appalachian Brewing Company

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Reviews by tone77:

Poured from a brown 22 oz. bottle. Has a dark brown color with some amber hues and a 1/2 inch head. Smell is strong of spices, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon stand out. Taste is also heavily spiced, some malts, flavorful, but maybe a bit over spiced. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a pretty good beer.

More User Reviews:

On tap at The Grey Lodge. I initially thought that it must have been served in a dirty pint glass, but after looking at the other revies here there's apparantly little head retention to this one. It did have a nice, soft carbonation to it - which was nice, and worked well for the style - but that should still have been enough to conjure up a small head! Anyway, the aroma was nice. I didn't find it too spicy at all. Soft maltiness. Well blended I though. And the flavor followed suit. Round, soft, gently spicy. Nice edge of caramel. Smooth. Restrained bitterness. Caramelish malt and light spice linger in the finish. Worth trying.

This must be a different beast on-tap, because my bottle was nothing to write home about. Looks like a nice winter warmer, a nice deep amber color. Smells of funky lemon and spice, just doesnt smell right to me. Flavor is overloaded with spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, all the jazz. It's just abit much for me. But hey, the girlfriend liked it and she has a good palate for beer, go figure.

On tap @ the Harrisburg location on 11/24/09. Served in an oversized mug.

Pours a clear amber, with a finger or so of smooth and creamy off-white head. Stays foamy around the edges, with some thin wisps in the center, leaving a fizzy cascade of lacing behind. Spicy notes of ginger and clove just dominate this, with some sticky caramel sweetness behind it. Although there is supposed to be some cinnamon in here, I'm really having trouble picking it up. Tis a shame too, as some spicier sweetness would have been welcome here. A fresh hoppy green feel floats on the edges. The spice is very strong here but I wouldn't quite say that it's overbearing.

The taste is is similar, with that strong spice hanging up, before grainy caramel malt sweetness and zesty orange citrus swoop in towards the back of the profile. This has those same assertive green hops as the aroma, with bitterness and spice bouncing off each other and giving this a lively feel in the mouth. The spice is definitely balanced a bit more here in the taste but it does linger rather heavily (along with some leftover bitterness) in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a crispness to the feel, which falls right in line with that sharp mix of hops and spice. Very zippy feeling overall presence here on the palate.

I've got to say that this wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered, probably not having had it in a couple of years. The spice is rather strong but never becomes over the top (especially in the taste), thanks to equally cheery flavors of orange zest, bread, and toffee. The spice did hold the drinkibility back some for me but overall, this was a pleasant festive quaff just in the time for the holidays.

A nice ember orange-amber beer with a finger high head. The head evaporates quickly and leaves no real lacing.

A mild clove, orange, and cinnamon aroma that is indicative of this style. It is light and spicy smelling with very little malt.

The flavor is light and only a little sweet warm malt with mellow hops: there isn't anything overbearing about the base ingredients. The orange and ginger come through with a bit of clove and cinnamon. This allows the spices to come through strongly and hang on the tongue.

The mouthfeel is very typical of pale ales and is good, but not exceptional or unique. That however makes it very drinkable - perhaps this beer's best quality.

While some Winter Warmer beers are overly spiced, very alcoholic, or syrupy sweet, this is a very straight-forward beer that represents the style well. It is a good example of an bitter/pale ale winter beer.

Been a long time, both since my last ABC ale and my last glass of this. Thanks to Sarah and Pat.

A: The ale is a darker amber color, maybe even orange. Barely translucent, the ale has plenty of floaties suspended mid-glass. A small head, a few shades off white, rests in a thin band.

S: Plenty of nutmeg, even after a few months in the back of the fridge. The spice profile is thick and intense, citrus and cinnamon following the nutmeg. Nicely spiced, if not a little over the top.

T: The nutmeg isn't as sharp on the palate. Instead, toffee and caramel malts make a stronger statement. Alongside the malts, cinnamon and ginger stand out. The ginger is especially strong near the finish. All in all, the flavor is pretty nice. I'm thinkin' that this ale could easily be mulled on much colder nights.

M: The mouthfeel depends on the spices, bailing out the ho-hum caramel body. Even on a warmer night, the ginger provides a refreshing flavor.

A - Two fingers worth of dense creamy egg shell colored head... Eventually all that is left is the slightest of collars... Loaded with moderate paced random carbnatoin rising throughout... The color is mix of amber and pale reddish tones...

M - Medium bodied... Briskly carbonated... A bit of lushness starts each sip... Clean... Crisp... Even and consistent with each sip...

D - This is a very nice winter seasonal that really hit the spot... The sum of the overall scores doesn't seem to do this one justice... This one is six-pack and possibly case worthy each holiday season...

Look: Color was an opaque brown with a very thin film on top that probably was once a head. Virtually zero carbonation was noticeable. The server did mention this was the last of this year’s batch, and it certainly showed in the appearance. Very tepid.

Taste: Thin body. Again, strong ginger and cinnamon notes. This was like a lager that was spiced way beyond anything I’ve ever had before. For instance: take a Sam Adams Winter Lager and turn the ginger spice intensity up by about 75%.

This was a little disappointing for my first ABC beer, but on to the next one!

Appearance: Beer pours a murky mahogany color with a quarter inch off-white head. The head disappears almost completely right away.

Smell: Quite sweet with initial hints of cherries and malt. After that I pick up the strong smell of spices with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg dominating.

Mouthfeel: The body is on the thin side. Beer seems slightly under carbonated.

Taste: Again, initially sweet malt with mild fruity notes. Then come the spices where cinnamon and ginger dominate until the finish. There isn't any noticeable hoppy bitterness. Overall I think the flavor of this beer is a bit watery.

Drinkability: This beer smells quite good, but the taste doesn't live up to expectations. It isn't a chore to finish, but I don't know that I'll be revisiting it any time soon.

Appears a semi-transparent copper toned amber with a 1 finger, soapy beige head that slowly fades out. Scattered bits of clumpy lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of ginger, brown sugar, cinnamon, and obvious orange peel with some of the candied, dry ginger thrown into the mix.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with a sugar cookie flavor backing up the spices and orange citrus.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, sugary, spicy, and zesty.